Herakut in Freiburg

Obsessed with Street Art!

Crellim's avatar August 26, 2014

I am absolutely obsessed with Street Art. As I have wandered on many of my travels, I often am out looking for street art. Specifically, I’m looking for art that is an interaction with the urban world around me. It doesn’t have to be commissioned work, but typically is extremely public and accessible. No need to go to a museum or study and art book to experience this incredible art form. Wikipedia gives a great definition for those who need that kind of thing! 

I also follow many street art bloggers, Facebook pages, photographers, and the artists themselves. There is a huge community surrounding and participating in street art, which I admire and learn more about this incredible art scene.  Streetart Utopia and Brooklyn Street Art are two of my favorite blogs.

Like I said, many of my wanderings are driven by want to find and discover street art. I love to photograph the beautiful murals, graffiti tags, stickers, and wheat-paste posters I can find along my journeys. See my entire street art collection or here are a few of my favorites!

Chris Lux in the Mission, San Francisco

Chris Lux in San Francisco

Kenny Scharf on Houston Street in Manhattan

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Banksy in Chinatown, San Francisco

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Herakut in Freiburg, Germany

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Unknown artist in Barcelona, Spain

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Unknown Artist in Amsterdam, Netherlands

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Eclair Bundersnatch on Divisidero in San Francisco

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Dissatisfied in Oakland

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Packing

Crellim's avatar August 25, 2014

Packing for a road trip seems so easy in the mind. It’s not until your bed is covered with all the stuff your bringing that you realize you might be slightly out of your mind 🙂

I look through everything I want to bring, and I know I have too many clothes, my books take up too much room, and do I really need to take two hoodies. Yes, dammit I do, they are my armor!

Even though I expect to learn about myself on this journey, I am bringing all this stuff because it makes me feel home, more safe, less far away. I go through it, and I ask myself what should I leave but I cling tightly to all that is on my bed.

I guess the final decision will be when I load up the car and have to decide what doesn’t fit. I can’t kick my dad and all his stuff out of the car, so I can’t take up the room. But for now this is what I will bring!

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Poetry

Let Your Soul Sing or How to Pick a Path

Crellim's avatar August 20, 2014

Standards and norms may pretend they are right

But there is no such thing as a right or wrong path to travel
Yes, there are many ways to choose, even ones that are never acknowledged
Yet claiming a path as right and another as wrong does more harm than good
 
My options are open not framed in these constrained options
Rather I will walk down the path that makes me feel alive
There are always paths, and I mean multiple, that send each spirit soaring
My aim is to travel down those paths that make my soul sing
 
Yes, there are paths that hurt the soul and destroy the spirit 
They probably destroy the world around you too
But I have walked down those paths and there is no shame in admitting it
Framing it as wrong, just allows the world to label you as bad and in need of repentance
 
But those paths I’ve walked where I hurt myself and others, the damage was done just by going down that path. No need to label it and hold onto it further
Just time to accept that path didn’t make my soul fly and choose to go down another road
 
It might seem easier to go down some prescribed path that you don’t have think about, and to not even give nod to the other ways out there.
As long as you can carry the burden of the norms and pretend to meet the standards, maybe it will carry you for a moment
 
But the real freedom comes when you realize that there is no need to carry burden of that path and attempt to meet it’s norms
All paths are just paths, and some work better for others and there are always so many to choose to from
 
Follow your heart and listen to how your soul sings. Many journeys on roads, trails, creeks, and paths will all follow, none right or wrong, all just part of life.

Window Reflections

Crellim's avatar August 20, 2014

I consider myself an urban photographer with a dash of nature for proper balance. I’m always amused about the magic of windows. People spend crazy hours building displays to advertise their wares, but have absolutely no control over reflections. Here are some of my favorite window photos http://crellim.smugmug.com/keyword/windows/

Christina World

Come with me Across the USA

Crellim's avatar August 19, 2014

I have been so blessed to be able to travel to many places around the world. I have an extremely special opportunity to do something I’ve always dreamed. I am going on a road trip across the United States of America for the next two months.

During this time, I plan to explore cities, hike national parks, stop at the oddest roadside attractions, drink coffee in small towns, and meet incredible people along the way. I am also using this trip to explore more of my creativity, which I’ve not had much time to do while working in front of a laptop for the last 10 years.

I will use this blog to write all my feelings and experiences about this journey. Sometimes, I will just write a description of what I did for the day. Other times, I will publish poems, photos, and paintings inspired by the journey.  So, I hope you will take a moment to follow me and experience the US through my eyes!

Traveling across the country is not the cheapest activity, but I am planning on keeping it simple. I will be sleeping in my car and camping to save on expenses. Also, my dad was too jealous of this crazy journey so now he’s decided to crash it. Luckily for me, he’s a mechanic so all car issues should be well handled. And he’s a golden geezer, so all camping in national forests is half off. So I glad he’s coming along as my support team.

But I am also raising money for my journey by running a Kickstarter campaign. For donating at certain levels, you can also get some of my art. I will be making calendars, greeting cards, and paints from the journey. Explore my Kickstarter campaign and see how you can best support me on this journey. For those of you, who’ve wanted to buy one of my paintings, this is an easy way to do it.

Interested in supporting me, but completely clueless about my art? Well, scroll down on my blog! You’ll find some of my poems, paintings, and photography already published just to wet your whistle.  Also, my photos at crellim.smugmug.com showcase my urban, streetart, and nature photography.

Finally, you can also follow my journey on instagram and twitter besides just this blog. I will post where I’m heading next so add a comment and come join me for a coffee in your town! I’m so excited to share this journey with you and I hope you enjoy the ride!